Hyderabad: A district consumer forum here has ordered an IT firm to refund Rs 1 lakh and pay a compensation of another 1 lakh to a consumer after it failed to develop a website as per the demand.
The plaintiff named D Naveen Nishchal filed a complaint saying that he approached Sri Sai IT Solutions located in Kukatpally, requesting them to develop a multi-user e-commerce website. It was supposed to be a bi-lingual website with a description of agricultural products in English and Telugu.
In his complaint, Naveen stated that he had signed an agreement with the firm on May 21, 2019, and paid Rs 40,000 in advance. He paid another installment to the firm, and by August 3, 2019, he paid a sum of Rs 1 lakh out of the total amount of Rs 1,26, 900.
Naveen claimed that the firm delayed the development of the website for months and dodged him every time he raised the issue. Naveen also sent a legal notice to the firm, demanding a refund of the money he paid. As a last resort, he approached the consumer forum seeking compensation from the firm.
The defendant on the other hand did not appear in the court for the hearing. The consumer court admonished the firm for not developing the website despite receiving Rs 1 lakh.
In its judgment, the court said, “The opposite party did not respond even after receiving the legal notice and summons, this shows their negligence to provide the service to the complainant. It clearly shows a deficiency in service and it is true that it causes more mental agony to the complainant.”